Summertime

Jane Hudson arrives in Venice for a long-awaited vacation and feels the city's romance looming. On the vaporetto to her hotel, she meets two fellow Americans, Lloyd and Edith McIlhenny, who will accompany her through much of the trip. The scene sets her longing for companionship against the backdrop of floating palazzos and unfamiliar streets.

Jane settles into Signora Fiorini's pensione, a charming Italian home turned guesthouse. The property is also inhabited by Eddie Yaeger and his wife Phyl, with Mauro lingering as a pesky local intermediary. The mix of new acquaintances foreshadows the social dynamics that will unfold in Venice.

On her first evening, Jane walks to Piazza San Marco and is overwhelmed by the sight of couples in love, intensifying her own loneliness. A lone Italian man watches her from a distance, making her feel objectified and nervous. She leaves the square in a hurry, seeking privacy from the city's romantic energy.

The next day, Jane sees a red glass goblet in Renato de Rossi's antique shop and enters, where he reassures her of its authenticity. He teaches her bargaining, and she purchases the goblet after learning its value and history. Renato offers to find a matching goblet, hinting at a chance for a future encounter.

The following morning, Jane returns with Mauro to the shop, only to find Renato absent. Later, while filming the storefront, she accidentally steps backward into a canal, a humiliating mishap that forces her to beg Mauro to take her back to the pensione Fiorini. The incident underscores her social clumsiness in this unfamiliar city.

That evening, Renato visits the pensione and admits his attraction to Jane. She resists his advances at first, wary of pursuing a risky romance. He warns her not to waste an opportunity for happiness, signaling a test of her willingness to embrace desire.

Lloyd and Edith return from Murano with a new set of red goblets similar to Jane's. Renato realizes Jane suspects he may have swindled her, but he explains that similar designs have been used for centuries and insists the goblet is genuine. Jane's anger softens as she considers the possibility of a romance with him.

The couple attends a moonlit concert in the Piazza, where the orchestra performs the overture to La Gazza Ladra. Jane, surprisingly calm, chooses a simple gardenia from a flower seller instead of the orchid Renato expects. Later, she drops the gardenia into a canal during a stroll, and Renato—despite his efforts—cannot retrieve it before they return to the pensione.

The next day, Jane prepares for another romantic evening, only to encounter Mauro who reveals that Renato has a son, Vito, implying Renato’s deeper commitments. Jane is stunned to learn Renato is married with children, which complicates the fantasy of their affair.

In a bar, Jane learns from Phyl that Eddie is having an affair with Signora Fiorini, adding to the city's sense of betrayal at night. Renato returns and explains that in Italy relationships can be different, and that his own status as married but separated was concealed to avoid scaring Jane away. He accuses Jane of immaturity if she cannot accept what is possible.

Jane and Renato's tensions melt as they go on a date to an open-air courtyard night club, dancing the night away. After the performance, they return to Renato's home where their affair is consummated amidst fireworks in the distance and a sense of impending impermanence.

The couple spend several idyllic days on Burano, but Jane grows certain she cannot bear a relationship she sees ending unhappily. She decides to return home early, telling Renato not to come to the station but hoping he will nonetheless ignore her request.

At the station platform, Mauro says goodbye and offers Jane a free trinket as a parting gift. As the train begins to depart, Renato runs after it, attempting to hand her a package through the window. He finally retrieves his gift—a gardenia—just as the train pulls away, sealing their bittersweet ending.